Old Mutual International strengthens investment partnership with Skandia

Old Mutual International (OMI) has appointed Skandia Investment Group to manage its two largest fund offerings within its popular ‘Life Account’ offshore insurance product

OMI, the Guernsey-registered offshore business of Old Mutual whose client base is largely South African, has transferred the management responsibilities of the popular Diversified Plus and Growth Plus Funds to Skandia to give investors access to Skandia Investment Group’s internationally acclaimed multi-manager investment approach. The funds were previously managed by GAM.

Customers of OMI’s offshore investment products who are invested in the Diversified Plus and Growth Plus Funds will retain their investments – but the underlying selection of fund managers and assets will now be chosen, blended and monitored by Skandia.

With Skandia as investment manager, investors in the funds will benefit from enhancements to the funds’ portfolio liquidity, regulatory framework and investment transparency alongside a reduction in the total cost of investing.

Skandia Investment Group will manage the funds in line with its tried-and-tested investment philosophy in place in other markets globally. Indeed, the OMI Diversified fund will follow a similar approach to Skandia’s existing Diversified fund which has achieved top quartile performance over three, six and twelve month periods. It has also beaten the average performance of all its peers over three, five and seven years. (Source: Factset/Morningstar for periods up to 31.03.2010, bid to bid, net income reinvested).

The Diversified Plus fund has a return target of inflation* plus 4% over rolling seven year periods based on an expected volatility of 10%. The Growth Plus fund is targeting a return of inflation* plus 5% over a ten year period but with an expected volatility of 15%.

Wayne Sorour, head of offshore distribution for Old Mutual International, said:

“Introducing Skandia to manage our two flagship funds is the latest development in the evolution of our offshore investment proposition in South Africa. We are committed to giving our customers access to the best possible fund managers in the world, and Skandia’s global buying power, and position as market leader in multi manager investments, will bring a new breadth of investment capabilities to our funds.”

John Ventre, one of the Skandia fund managers responsible for the two funds, said:

“Skandia Investment Group has a strong track record and significant capability in multi manager investment. Our existing Diversified fund continues to leverage our renowned expertise in fund manager selection and our successful asset allocation capabilities to deliver strong long term returns to investors so it’s great that we can extend these benefits more broadly in South Africa. This gives a much larger number of investors access to multi asset solutions which not only deliver low cost, but come with a strong long term track record.”

*Inflation as measured by the consumer price index for each relevant currency the funds are offered in.